Of Love and Magic
by AvengersPrincess15
Summary: Estelle's life in Camelot was quiet and peaceful, to say the least. Alternating between working with Gaius and training with Arthur, she never really was part of an adventure. So when young man turns up, bringing mischief with him, she's instantly drawn to him. And not to mention, he's got a pair of the most beautiful, blue eyes. Merlin/OC - Rated T for safety


_**Disclaimer; I don't own anything in Merlin besides Estelle and my other OC's. Anything unrecognisable belongs to me. BBC owns everything else.**_

* * *

The young girl couldn't stop running. If she stopped, she would get caught. She wouldn't allow that. It was too dangerous.

The sound of horses galloping and men shouting reached her small ears. They were closer than she thought. She willed herself to run faster, fear creeping through her body. What would she do if they got her? Death would be better.

The undergrowth and fallen leaves crunched from beneath her agile feet. She didn't dare glance back for fear that they would be right behind her.

Barking. She paused and closed her eyes in anguish. They had released the hounds. With people, she would have a chance at misdirecting them. But the dogs would surely hinder that plan.

She ran towards a large tree that had a plethora of branches. She could use those as hand and foot holds. Glancing towards the ever-growing noise of hunters, she hurriedly pushed her crimson locks back and started to climb.

The girl thanked the heavens that climbing trees happened to be an important part of her childhood. Or the little childhood that she had. Whenever she was able to get away from the probing eyes around her, she would escape to the comforting forests. It was more of a home than she ever had with her family.

The sounds were getting closer and she could briefly hear tumultuous laughter. The hunters were enjoying this.

Perched atop a high branch, she stilled. The men were beneath the tree that she had taken refuge on. She didn't move. Didn't breathe. She couldn't.

The dogs started searching. They sniffed along the ground, trying to pick up her scent. Then one barked enthusiastically.

The girl held a hand over her mouth, trembling infinitesimally. Her other hand clenched the chain that hung around her neck. It was an heirloom, and bared the crest of her kingdom. The dog that barked followed her invisible scent trail towards her tree and howled. The men grinned, maliciously.

"Come on out, little girl," one heavily muscled man called out. Though not in a friendly way.

The group stood at the stump of the tree, yelling taunts and threats up at her. She glanced down at the group, not caring about being found anymore. They already knew she was there. All she needed was an escape.

The young redhead barely dodged the arrow that was released her way, gripping onto the tree bark to steady herself. She stood up, shakily and exhaled a sharp breath.

"You can't escape."

The thundering words continued and suddenly turned to laughs again when one of the hunters started to climb the tree.

The girl panicked. She didn't get this far only to be caught again. She wouldn't survive this one. That much was obvious.

She stuggled to formulate a plan in her mind, and the man climbing closer certainly wasn't helping that.

She couldn't jump down. Even if the group of hunters wasn't there, she would surely break her legs. Her gaze scanned the surrounding trees and she frowned in contemplation. They were close enough. If calculated correctly, she might be able to leap across to the nearest tree.

She took another look to the climbing man. He was getting too close for comfort and, if she didn't act now, she would be caught.

Taking a deep breath, the girl ran along the branch and jumped. She landed a level lower than she anticipated but shrugged it off. At least she didn't fall.

The group started shouting again. Some of them seemed excited that she was giving them a challenge, but the majority were impatient, wanting the chase to be over.

 _Not if I can help it_ , she thought, determinedly.

In a burst of confidence, she continued to leap across the trees, evading several arrows that were sent her way. Until one hit.

The girl cried out as a spasm of pain tore through her leg. This was made worse by the fact that she had been mid-leap. And so, she fell. The ground was quickly approaching and, despite the pain, she managed to grab onto an oncoming branch, swinging herself up quickly.

Looking at her leg with a grimace, she tore out the arrow, causing her to yelp out in agony.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to jump anymore, she dropped down to the ground, relieved that it wasn't a large fall, and into a thick patch of shrubs. She peeked out through the bushes and felt something inside of her rise. The men were advancing on her, smirking. There was no escape. Fear rose up and she limped out of the greenery, facing the hunters.

Her eyes flashed gold.

And the men were thrown back, landing painfully on their backs. They were all unconscious from the harsh blast. She staggered up to the nearest man and took two of his knives. It wasn't a lot, but it was all she could take.

The girl looked at the incapacitated group and used the advantage to run. Well, run as well as her injured leg would let her.

Gripping the daggers tightly, she ducked through the forest, wincing with every step. Her leg burned and throbbed painfully, bringing tears to her eyes. A thick, red substance seeped through her trousers, causing her to worry about the amount of blood she had lost.

She travelled for what seemed like hours before reaching a small river. She collapsed next to the body of water and drank from it, greedily. At that moment, she felt nothing but pain and exhaustion and, with that, she slowly let the darkness overtake her body as she fell unconscious.

 _Please let no-one find me._

* * *

The young prince laughed as he rode, horseback, through the forest, his father not far behind him. They were racing each other towards a small clearing that they both knew well. It was one of the only moments that the son and father had together and so, they made the most of it.

The boy was particularly excited. He would get to go hunting with his father again. Normally, his father would have been too busy to take him out.

Racing ahead, he dived forward to avoid a low hanging branch, smiling widely as he did. He had always loved the forests and the freedom it gave him.

He had almost reached the clearing, when he spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye. The boy slowed down to a trot and quickly dismounted his horse, to see more clearly.

He vaulted over a fallen tree stump and froze at the limp body of a girl. She was young, maybe a year or two younger than him with wild, red curls. Her clothes were dirty and ripped, making the prince wonder how long she had been out there.

"Arthur!" Called his father, causing the boy to pause for a moment.

Arthur returned his gaze towards the young girl. He moved forward to check if she was alright and saw a thick stream of blood pour out from a wound on her leg.

Kneeling down next to her, he noticed that her skin was unnaturally pale. A layer of sweat glistened on her skin and her breathing rate was faster than it should be.

Arthur knew enough from Gaius to know that that wasn't normal.

"Father!" He yelled, hoping that he might be able to help her.

King Uther came out through the dense shrubs at the sound of his son's yell. He paused when he saw Arthur sat next to an unconscious girl and was put immediately on guard once he noticed the daggers in her hands. Fearing a threat to his only heir's life, he demanded for Arthur to stand by his side.

The young prince, however, was hesitant to move. He knew that the girl was in danger of infection and shook his head mutinously.

"She's wounded, father," he pleaded. "We should take her back to Gaius."

The King, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, gave the boy a reprimanding look. "We don't know who she is, Arthur, or where her parents are."

"It looks like she was attacked. What if she wasn't with her parents? We can't leave her here."

"We cannot bring an unknown girl into the heart of the kingdom," he told Arthur, sternly, keeping his wary eye on the girl.

"Father, if it were _me_ -" the prince began.

"But it's not you."

The boy looked up at the King, pleading him with his eyes. The guilt would eat him alive if he left the girl, knowing that she would probably die of her injury.

"Please."

Uther glanced from the girl into his son's eyes. He seemed adamant on taking the girl back with them. The older man strode towards the limp body, taking in her fragile state, and removed the knives from her hands. _Just in case._ He had encountered people who seemed innocent enough, only for them to betray him or try to kill him.

He caught sight of an object that was loosely hung around her neck. Taking the chain in his hand, he narrowed his gaze back to the girl's face. She carried the crest of the royal family of Branlant. She was a princess.

He had heard rumours that King Monnan of Branlant had another child. A girl, in fact. But that's all they were at the time. _Maybe the rumours were true._

"We'll take her to Gaius until her parents can collect her," he told his son.

Arthur smiled brightly at his father. At least the girl would be taken care of properly. Maybe when she woke up, him and the girl could become friends.

* * *

The young girl woke with a pained groan. Her leg was still sore, but not as painful as it had been before. This filled her with tired confusion. Blinking, she waited for her vision to clear before she realised that she was not in the forest but inside an unfamiliar room.

 _They've found me_ , she thought in despair.

"Oh good, you're awake," a voice said cheerfully from behind her.

She jolted upright instantly, staring at the man who had spoken. He was old, but not old enough to be classed as elderly with kind pale-blue eyes. The made her pause. If they had caught her, they would have bound her hands and feet. She wouldn't be on a bed, but in a dungeon. She wouldn't be looking at a caring face.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly, her throat aching.

"Camelot, my dear." He handed her a vial of a green liquid, smiling at her. She eyed the bottle warily. "It's to help with the pain."

Taking the vial, she looked back up at the man and drank the liquid. It didn't taste horrible, but it wasn't the most delicious thing in the world.

"Who are you?" She questioned. She was more confident now that she knew she wasn't in danger.

"Gaius. I'm a physician. You're lucky you didn't get an infection," he told her, gently, gesturing towards her injured leg. It was now wrapped up with bandages.

"Thank you for helping me," she said, grateful for his aid.

Gaius just smiled at the girl sat before him. She looked startingly familiar to him but he couldn't place where from. He had been worried when Uther came into his chambers with a weak, shivering girl in his arms. The King had told him how he had found her and that perhaps she was a royal.

"If I may ask, what is your name, my dear?"

The child looked at him with her silvery-grey eyes before softly answering. "My name is Estelle."

 ** _Yes, I know; A new fanfiction. Don't worry, I am not giving up on my Avengers fanfiction. I just needed a break from it to write something else. 'Mirage' was starting to stress me out and I need to vent my creative juices on another piece of work._**

 ** _I will still be continuing to write Mirage, and updating it... I've given too much bood, sweat and tears to give up now._**

 ** _Let me know what you think of this and whether you want to carry on reading._**

 ** _Love you all,_**

 ** _\- Jess xo_**


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